The Crew

If you've ever wanted to put a face to a name in a manual or on the forum - or just wondered who does what at Just Trains - read on...

Andy Payne - Managing Director

Entering the software industry in 1984, Andy was responsible for the launch and production of the Hill-McGibbon range of educational software for William Collins. Other book publishers quickly utilised Andy's experience and style, amongst them Heinmann (The Fourth Protocol), Macmillan (Trap Door), William Collins (Yes Prime Minister) and Penguin (Cover to Cover range) and Andy joined third-party production company Cos in 1986. He then worked on the million seller, The Way of the Exploding Fist, for Melbourne House (later bought by Mastertronic, in turn bought by Virgin), and International Karate from System 3. Andy was a key player in the launch of the biggest selling home computer game ever at that time - Domark's Trivial Pursuit.

He masterminded delivery on Commodore 64, C16, Spectrum 128, Spectrum 64, Atari 800, Apple II, IBM, Amstrad 464/664/6128, Amstrad PCW, BBC Electron, Atari ST, Sony MSX and Amiga. Andy formed specialist production company The Producers in April 1988 and that company still runs successfully today. As you can see below, it provides much of the backbone services for Just Flight's business. He has been personally responsible for bringing many US-based publishers into Europe, among them Electronic Arts (FIFA), Mindscape (Wing Commander), Sierra On-Line (Kings Quest), Lucas Arts (Monkey Island and the Star Wars series), Maxis (Sim City and The Sims), Interplay (Baldur's Gate, Star Trek series), Accolade (Test Drive Series), 3DO (Army Men) and NovaLogic (Comanche series).

Andy has been involved in over 250 top thirty selling products, of which over 40 have hit Number One in the charts and has produced over 1,000 titles. His vast experience in business administration and management has been key in establishing Just Flight and Just Trains as the number one simulation specialists.

Alex Ford - Publishing Director

Alex joined Interactive Associates CDC (later Just Flight) in 1997 as a Product Manager and now, as Publishing Director, is responsible for both new and existing products, as well as developer relationships.

Alex’s life-long passion for everything related to aviation started in his school years when he lived near Heathrow airport. As well as achieving one of his ambitions to gain a UK Private Pilot’s Licence, he has served as a civilian instructor in the Air Training Corps (1381 Squadron), worked with avionics for a major UK helicopter company and been a flying school operations manager,

His interest in computer flight simulation began with the release of the very earliest programs, and he would buy a computer system just because it had a flight sim program written for it! Starting off with a Sinclair ZX81, and moving through other systems such as the BBC 'B' and Atari STFM, he eventually entered the world of the PC, Microsoft Flight Simulator and other PC-based flight sims.

Alex’s experience in all things flight simulation has provided him with a unique mix of hands on-ability, and his management skills mean that he is very much the ‘Scotty’ of the JustTrains and Just Flight teams.

Alex is married, has two children and lives near Oxford in the UK.

Dermot Stapleton - Operations Director

After leaving Hull University, where he studied geography, Dermot worked for the Royal Geographical Society in various roles, including Researcher and Editorial Assistant on the prestigious Geographical Journal.

He also studied Egyptology while working at the society and became their unofficial expert on the subject. He left the RGS to pursue a career in the courier industry and rose to become general manager of the UK's largest service company.

As well as a busy career, Dermot has also found time to carry on writing and was a regular contributor for BBC Radio, which included performing and writing on the Radio 1 Roadshow.

Having contributed to the very first issues of PC Pilot magazine, Dermot took over as Managing Editor and remained in the left-hand seat until the magazine was sold to Key Publishing in 2006. Never a man to sit back and relax, Dermot is currently working on a book about the RAF in WWII. His unrivalled experience in management, combined with a quill loaded with words of wisdom, ensures that our public face is always at its sharpest, his pen being mightier than any joystick.

Scott Phillips - Marketing

Scott is a veteran of the computer and video games industry, having started at Elite Systems where he worked on legendary titles such as Paper Boy, Mighty Bombjack, Ikari Warriors, Ghosts and Goblins, Blue Thunder, Scooby Doo and many more 8-bit classics.

Having spent 10 years at Elite Systems, Scott then moved to fellow Britsoft publisher Rage Software (Striker, EuroFighter Typhoon, David Beckham Soccer, Incoming, Rocky) where he worked until 2002.

He joined Just Flight and Just Trains in August 2002 and handled the Club Manager range of products for sister label Just Football, working closely with Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and other leading Premier League English football clubs. He switched to the Just Flight and Just Trains brands in January 2005, and brings his range of marketing and communication skills to the flight and train sim ranges which we publish.

Scott is an avid gamer and loves all sports, both as spectator and participant. He always wanted to be a combat pilot as a young lad but, as befalls many a would-be flyer, he suffered from short sightedness. Civil aviation somehow never had the same appeal for Scott, but he hopes to rekindle his aviation passion now he is in the Just Flight marketing jump seat.

Richard Slater - Development Manager (Just Flight)

Richard's association with us first started when he was part of the team at The Producers providing the backbone of our fulfilment needs.

After many years dispensing invaluable technical advice to our customers, Richard is now the Product Manager for Just Flight.

He is also responsible for the hard working Customer & Technical Support teams at both Just Flight and Just Trains.

On top of all that, Richard regularly goes without sleep to ensure our preparations and attendance at flight simulation and aviation shows across Europe go without a hitch.

Simon Martin - Head of Digital Marketing

Simon joined Just Flight in May 2006, and has progressed through the ranks from Technical Support to his current position as Head of Digital Marketing for the Mastertronic Group.

While still at school Simon created and edited Smart Computer Magazine, kickstarting his enthusiasm for writing articles about games.

Simon can often be found working through reams of data in Google Analytics in order to refine our web services so that we can bring you the most satisfying online experience possible.

Martyn's interest in aviation stems from his father's long career in the Royal Air Force. Regular visits to RAF bases, air shows and aviation museums left him with a strong desire to reach his goal of gaining a pilot’s license.

On getting his first PC at the age of 8, Martyn's passion for aviation extended into the virtual world and he started flight simming with products such as ‘Evasive Action’ and other DOS-based games. Four years later, he had his first encounter with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 and since then has progressively followed the series up to its current version.

Becoming firmly hooked on the series, Martyn went in search of add-on software and soon became an avid supporter of Just Flight. After months of regular visits to Just Flight’s forum, he started helping other users get to grips with the complex simulator. Four years on and over 1,000 posts later, fate soon came calling when Just Flight offered Martyn some temporary work. Martyn began work in the technical support team before moving on to head up the product testing team. In 2011, Martyn took over as Just Flight Product Manager and took charge of our customer services team – he also got his PPL!

In his spare time, Martyn enjoys taking to the skies of Cambridgeshire in a C-152 based at Peterborough Conington airfield.

Just Trains relies on a dedicated team at The Producers in Huntingdon to do all the hard work involved in turning our software into those boxed products you see on shop shelves and keeping our customers happy. Here's our loyal depot crew...

Simon King- Customer Services

Simon joined The Producers in 1995 and was originally involved in the manufacturing and production side of the business.

After a spell in warehousing and logistics he transferred into the Customer Services department and now ensures our customers are well looked after, whether it’s dealing with order processing, account management, e-mail or customer service over the phone.

Louise Fisher - Accounts

Louise has looked after our business accounts for many years. Not only does she understand the intricacies of asset turnover, working capital and current liabilities, but she can now explain at the drop of a hat the exact differences between Spitfire variants and knows her Class 66s from her Class 60s!